A Christmas Story has been my favorite Christmas movie for a long time. I don't remember seeing it when it came out in 1983, but then again, most people don't, because it was something of a flop in the theaters. It became a cult hit 15 or 20 years ago, and now that TBS runs it "wall-to-wall" (24 hours straight) on Christmas day every year, it's pretty much mainstream.
In case you're haven't seen it, here's a brief synopsis. The movie is set in Indiana in the 1940's. Nine-year old Ralphie wants only one thing for Christmas: a Red-Ryder BB gun. All the adults in his life tell him the same thing: "you'll shoot your eye out."
If someone asked me to name the funniest moment in A Christmas Story, I'd have a very hard time coming up with just one. All of Ralphie's dream sequences, especially the ones where he has his Red Ryder and he gets the bad guys. The scene in the Chinese restaurant. The time Ralphie got to help The Old Man change a tire, lost the lug nuts, swore and got his mouth washed out with soap. In fact, any scene with The Old Man is golden. Probably best of all is the "major award" and the mother's reaction to it.
How anyone could say A Christmas Story has "attitude" is beyond me. It is just like a real childhood. I could never relate to It's a Wonderful Life. It strikes me as forced and preachy. When Donna Reed looks at Jimmy Stewart at the end, all dewy-eyed, I want to shout at the screen, "Oh for goodness sake, woman, get a life!" To each his own - if that's your favorite Christmas movie, please watch it. It just doesn't work for me.
A recent article in Time laments "A Christmas Story's attitude is superseding It's a Wonderful Life's earnestness" and goes on to say that this change is caused primarily by Generation X and Y.
I agree about the nostalgia part. Here's a big problem about the demographics: I'm 52, well out of Generations X and Y. Many of the people in my ancient age group also love A Christmas Story and watch it every year. Please respond to the poll have at the top of the page and let me know if I'm alone on this. I'd love to hear your comments, too.
In case you're haven't seen it, here's a brief synopsis. The movie is set in Indiana in the 1940's. Nine-year old Ralphie wants only one thing for Christmas: a Red-Ryder BB gun. All the adults in his life tell him the same thing: "you'll shoot your eye out."
If someone asked me to name the funniest moment in A Christmas Story, I'd have a very hard time coming up with just one. All of Ralphie's dream sequences, especially the ones where he has his Red Ryder and he gets the bad guys. The scene in the Chinese restaurant. The time Ralphie got to help The Old Man change a tire, lost the lug nuts, swore and got his mouth washed out with soap. In fact, any scene with The Old Man is golden. Probably best of all is the "major award" and the mother's reaction to it.
How anyone could say A Christmas Story has "attitude" is beyond me. It is just like a real childhood. I could never relate to It's a Wonderful Life. It strikes me as forced and preachy. When Donna Reed looks at Jimmy Stewart at the end, all dewy-eyed, I want to shout at the screen, "Oh for goodness sake, woman, get a life!" To each his own - if that's your favorite Christmas movie, please watch it. It just doesn't work for me.
A recent article in Time laments "A Christmas Story's attitude is superseding It's a Wonderful Life's earnestness" and goes on to say that this change is caused primarily by Generation X and Y.
In a 2006 Harris poll, respondents from 18 to 41 years old named it (A Christmas Story) their favorite holiday movie, while their parents and grandparents picked Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th Street.
That's not to say Christmas Story or its viewers are cynical. It's nostalgic--but for the past's faults, not its imagined perfection. It's the nostalgia of its Gen-X and -Y fans, who remember childhood in terms of divorces and bad haircuts.
I agree about the nostalgia part. Here's a big problem about the demographics: I'm 52, well out of Generations X and Y. Many of the people in my ancient age group also love A Christmas Story and watch it every year. Please respond to the poll have at the top of the page and let me know if I'm alone on this. I'd love to hear your comments, too.
2 comments:
I wish you'd had an "all of the above" option on your poll!
I really, really love the book "A Christmas Story," more than the movie. So I had to go with "It's a Wonderful Life."
Christmas Story is the one I voted on. I do like to watch the Grinch too! As for my generation i have no idea where I am! I was born in '79. hope that helps you sort this out!
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